(April 6, 2002)
The first day I went back to the track to resume walking this spring, there were some hurdles aligned down the straight stretch of the fifth lane. I strode past them in the sixth lane as I always opt for the outermost if it's unoccupied.
With my second lap, they didn't look that high. Not impossible at least. I gauged them to be even with my crotch. In essence, I could just step over one without having to get on my toes or do a slight hop.
Lap three, I pondered the symbolic gesture of jumping hurdles as they relate to life. Not five in a row like some track star but just one.
On lap four, I pictured my second foot catching the top of the hurdle sending me crashing knee first into black asphalt. The last thing I need is to suffer through another long term knee injury. Maybe tomorrow, I thought to myself.
The next day I returned, and I swear the hurdles seemed higher, impossible. Someone's trying to tell me something.
As I continued down the track, the remaining hurdles seemed more like they had the day before. Hmm. With careful observation on my next lap, I discovered that the first few were indeed higher, almost waist level for me. Made sense they'd have hurdles of different heights, it's a high school track after all.
It wasn't until many days later when a knee-high hurdle appeared on the track that I actually indulged in jumping one. I did not crash though I could tell my form was not good enough for the crotch-high hurdles that preceded it.
Today, a couple of girls were playing with the hurdles on the grass by the side of the track. Some of the bars on top were lopsided as they endeavored to adjust the height. For the first time, I noticed they had push buttons on both of the vertical supports, much like I imagine the height of aluminum crutches are now adjusted. Every time I've been to the track the hurdles have always been set to their maximum height.
Adjustable hurdles, imagine that.
One year ago at TTaT: Is there Kryptonite nearby?, tip of the week- UK cell phone usage
tags: hurdles, exercise, walking
Seems to be the case, practically speaking.
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